Creating employer — One that caused a hazardous condition in violation of an OSHA standard and is citable even if the only employees exposed are those of other employers at the site.

Exposing employer — One whose own employees are exposed to the hazard. If the exposing employer created the violation, it is citable for the violation as a creating employer. If the violation was created by another employer, the exposing employer is citable if it:

1. Knew of the hazardous condition or failed to exercise reasonable diligence to discover the condition, and
2. Failed to take steps consistent with its authority to protect its employees.

If the exposing employer has authority to correct the hazard, it must do so. If the exposing employer lacks the authority to correct the hazard, it is citable if it fails to do each of the following:

• Ask the creating and/or controlling employer to correct the hazard;
• Inform its employees of the hazard; and
• Take reasonable alternative protective measures. In extreme circumstances (e.g., imminent danger situations), the exposing employer is citable for failing to remove its employees from the job to avoid the hazard.

Correcting employer — One who is engaged in a common undertaking, on the same worksite, as the exposing employer and is responsible for correcting a hazard. This usually occurs where an employer is given the responsibility of installing and/or maintaining particular safety/health equipment or devices.

The correcting employer must exercise reasonable care in preventing and discovering violations and meet its obligations of correcting the hazard.

Controlling employer — One who has general supervisory authority over the worksite, including the power to correct safety and health violations itself or require others to correct them. Control can be established by contract or, in the absence of such provisions, by the exercise of control in practice.

A controlling employer must exercise “reasonable care” to prevent and detect violations on the site. The extent of the measures that should be implemented is less than what is required of an employer with respect to protecting its own employees. This means that the controlling employer is not normally required to inspect for hazards as frequently or to have the same level of knowledge of the applicable standards or of trade expertise as the employer it has hired.